Primary school children in Bristol today became the first to enjoy a lesson in animation based on the new animated adaptation of Judith Kerr’s much-loved classic, The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
ScreenSkills, the skills charity for the UK’s screen industries, has collaborated on the educational resource with the production company, Lupus Films, which made the TV special which premiered on Channel 4 this Christmas. It is based on the book published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
The career lesson plan is designed to excite and inspire primary school children about jobs in the animation industry. It concludes with children creating their own animation based on The Tiger Who Came to Tea story.
Commissioned by the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Council with contributions from the animation industry to the Animation Skills Fund, the resource consists of a flexible plan which can be run as a single lesson or a series. It includes teacher notes, a presentation, a project book for the children and additional lessons in maths and science.
The lesson plan is available on the ScreenSkills website from today, coinciding with the start of Digital Cities Week in Bristol. Digital Cities, organised by the BBC Academy with support from ScreenSkills and others, is a series of workshops, masterclasses and other events that take place at locations across the UK to boost digital skills and introduce young people to new technology.
The animation lesson plan is the first in a new series on careers in the screen industries, created by ScreenSkills in association with the Into Film education charity and Arts Council England. The next plans are due to be launched in March 2020.
Compass Point School in Bristol, which has an Into Film club, is hosting the launch event, with Year 5 and Year 6 students from Ashton Vale Primary School and Luckwell Primary School also taking part in the lesson followed by a tea party with an adult-sized tiger as a special guest.
Teaching staff will be invited to take part in a professional development workshop on using animation in the classroom, hosted by ScreenSkills with the educational charity Into Film, the same day.
Seetha Kumar, Chief Executive of ScreenSkills, said: “This is a lovely way of opening the minds of children to how an animation is brought to life. It is a natural way of encouraging them to develop skills – whether technical, social or creative – that will be useful whatever they do later in life. However, for some young people, we also hope it will plant the idea that animation could be a career. We would love this project to help inspire future generations of British animators.”
Caroline Hollick, Head of Drama, Channel 4, said: “We are thrilled that our Christmas special will help inspire young people to discover how animations are made.”
Adam Jackson-Nocher, Line Producer, Lupus Films, said: "We are delighted that The Tiger Who Came to Tea is featuring in the upcoming lesson plan, and to see such excellent resources being made available for a young age group. We are very proud to offer our continued support to the fantastic work ScreenSkills are doing to inspire the future generation of home-grown animation talent in the UK.”
Paul Reeve, CEO, Into Film, said: “Introducing primary aged children to career possibilities in the screen industries is an important element of Into Film’s work and we are delighted to be working in partnership with ScreenSkills on this venture. We hope the beautifully animated source material, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, will inspire children to engage with the exciting possibilities of careers in animation and that they will be energised by the event in Bristol. We also hope that teachers will feel equipped and confident to use animation in the classroom as an accessible and hugely enjoyable tool for learning.”
Brad Arthur, Deputy Headteacher, Year 6 Class Teacher, Compass Point Primary School, said “The ScreenSkills lesson plans inspire children by allowing them to delve into a much-loved story through animation and other hands-on learning opportunities. The plan based on The Tiger Who Came to Tea also allows children to see what goes into their favourite animated films and what jobs and opportunities there are to work in this field.”
The Tiger Who Came to Tea has sold more than 5 million copies since it was first published in 1968. Its author, Judith Kerr, died in May this year aged 95. Channel 4 commissioned the new hand-drawn animated special, produced by Lupus Films in association with HarperCollins Children’s Books and Universal Pictures, and HarperCollins, which aired on Christmas Eve.
For press inquiries about the educational resources, please contact Louise Jury, director of communications and marketing, on 020 7713 9883 or louise.jury@screenskills.com or Saffeya Shebli, communications consultant, on 020 7713 9835 or saffeya.shebli@screenskills.com
An image is attached. Credit: The Tiger Who Came to Tea @Tiger Tea Productions Ltd
Images will be available of children doing the lesson plan and the tiger tea party after the event.
The animation lesson plan and associated resources can be found here.
About ScreenSkills: ScreenSkills, formerly known as Creative Skillset, is the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen industries - animation, film, games, television including children's TV and high-end drama, VFX and immersive technology. We work across the whole of the country to ensure that UK screen has access now, and in the future, to the skills and talent needed for continued success.
ScreenSkills’ work in finding, developing and retaining a skilled workforce for the UK’s screen industries includes: providing careers information; finding and supporting new entrants; investing in skills and training for the existing workforce, including programmes to help professionals return to the industry after a career break for caring or parenting responsibilities, to support progression into more senior roles across the industry and to further diversify the workforce; the ScreenSkills Mentoring Network; and skills forecasting. All programmes have diversity and inclusivity targets.
We are supported by industry contributions to skills funds for film, high-end television, children’s television, television and animation, and by the BFI, awarding National Lottery funds. We currently receive Arts Council England funding to share good practice from the screen industries with the arts. Screenskills.com
About Lupus Films: Lupus Films is one of the UK’s foremost producers of high-quality films and television programmes for children and families, set up by Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding in 2002. Their productions have been sold to over 150 countries worldwide and they are known internationally for beautifully crafted animation and stylish film adaptations of classic children's literature. www.lupusfilms.com
About Into Film: Into Film is an education charity that puts film at the heart of children and young people’s educational, cultural and personal development.
Over half of UK schools engage with our programme of Into Film Clubs, special cinema screenings, and resources and training to support classroom teaching. Alongside rich online content for young audiences, this provides five to 19-year-olds with inspiring opportunities to learn about and with film, and develop a passion for cinema.